he has been offered a way forward towards a political transition, as was done in other places like yemen, for example. and he has rejected that. and his determination to hold on to power at all costs has turned out to be, as i said, a terrible tragedy for the syrian people, for the region. it is a tragedy, charlie, because it is a country with a rich heritage and you see, you see the destruction of places like aleppo and the covered market in aleppo which has been there for hundreds and hundreds of years. the country is just being torn apart and the responsibility rests with assad. >> but the same time because of the way that has unfolded over time, they're more and more groups flowing in to participate in that war against him who are not necessarily friends of the united states. and in fact in some cases are not. >> and this has been one of the things, one of the principal things that the united states has been deeply concerned about from the outset, it is what we've laid out to the russian, for example, from the outset here. you asked about the head of the syrian opposition council. >>